Platonicjago Oneshots
by Candaru
Summary: A oneshot collection to promote platonic ninjago pairings, and more specifically, to name them all! More info in the A/N. Currently accepting requests and name suggestions! All existing platonic shipnames are on my profile; to see if a pairing has been written yet, check the chapter list! (Oneshot collection, rated T for safety, NO ROMANCE! Familial and platonic bonds only!)
1. Garden (Cole & Lloyd)

(A/N: Hello, all! This oneshot series is a part of my attempt to spread platonic shipnames for Ninjago pairings, like the Voltron fandom has. Just for kicks, I'm going to theme each oneshot based off the platonic shipnames I [or you!] come up with. If you have a suggestion for a shipname [brot3+s are fine!], a request as to which oneshot you want me to write next, or headcanons about how certain characters would interact, feel free to leave them in the reviews! The current platonic shipnames are on my profile; if you have a suggestion for one that's undecided or one that I haven't listed, leave it in a review. Remember to keep everything romance-free and thanks for your interest in this project! ^_^)

(P.S. The platonic name for Kai/Lloyd [I believe it was pyrobroyd but I've altered it a little] was originally coined by a user on tumblr whom I can no longer find. If anyone knows who they are, let me know so I can give them credit!)

* * *

Platonic Pairing: Garden (Cole/Lloyd)

Set: After _Child's Play_

* * *

Lloyd was getting tired of tripping over his own two feet.

Sure, it was _kind_ of cool to be suddenly closer in age to the other ninja. He could reach the top shelf on his own now, which pestered Jay (who was now ever-so-slightly shorter in stature than him) to no end, and his powers had gotten a lot stronger overnight. But when considering the constant clumsiness due to longer limbs than he was used to, regret over the loss of a childhood he'd never have, and the knowledge that he'd have to fight his father soon, Lloyd was pretty firmly set on the opinion that the cons outweighed the pros.

"Kai?" the now-teen called as he walked around the airship. The _Destiny's Bounty_ had become unusually quiet after the recent events— or at least that's how it seemed to Lloyd. Maybe everyone just became quiet when he was around.

Blinking in the morning sun as he staggered onto the deck, the green ninja finally noticed where all the other ninja had gone: they were outside the Bounty on the grass below, performing some sort of training exercise under the watchful eye of Sensei Wu. Lloyd wondered why he hadn't been called to train, but quickly ducked out of sight when Wu turned his gaze towards him. Regardless of whether the others felt bad for him or just couldn't focus around him, he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to skip a training session. He knew he had to be ready in time to beat his father, but… well, he didn't like to think about that. He quickly snuck off the deck and back into the ship, slipping through the back door to the other side of the Bounty. He could play back here for a bit.

"Lloyd?"

The green ninja spun around to see a muscular, black-haired boy looking up at him in confusion. It only then occurred to Lloyd that the only uniforms he'd seen training with Wu were red, blue, and white.

"Hey, Cole," he said, cocking his head. "Why aren't you training with the others? And— what's _that?"_ He motioned to a watering can Cole was hiding behind his back.

"O-oh, this? It's, uh, just a different kind of training," Cole said, blushing. Lloyd had never seen Cole blush before. "It's got to do with my elemental powers and stuff."

"Uh-huh," Lloyd responded, not entirely convinced. "How does it work?"

"Oh, it's really boring, I'm not really sure… hey!" Cole yelped as Lloyd ran behind him and snatched the watering can, peering inside to see… some water. He probably should have expected that.

But then Lloyd's attention was caught by something a little further away. A bright patch of colors, hidden partially by the start of a thick grove of trees (the Bounty was parked right between a large clearing and a forest), interrupted the green and brown hues all around. Ignoring Cole's pleas not to, he started walking towards it.

"Flowers?" the blond asked, raising an eyebrow. An array of cheerful-looking flowers, most of which Lloyd didn't know the names of, were planted in neat rows by color. They swayed carelessly as a warm breeze blew past.

"Sensei Wu has you _gardening?"_ he snickered. His little-kid attitude still popped through rather frequently, although he was getting the hang of being more mature… at least when the adults were around.

Cole sighed, apparently deciding it was no use trying to hide the facts anymore. "Yeah," he admitted, "and the worst part is, I actually kinda like it."

"What? Seriously?" Lloyd wrinkled his nose. "I mean, a lot of my classmates at Darkley's liked to play in the mud, but flowers are…"

"Girly. I know," Cole sighed, giving a sideways glance to his work. "I'll bet Kai and Jay and Zane have way cooler elemental chores than me."

"Elemental chores?"

"That's what Sensei's calling them," Cole explained. "We all have different tasks to work on 'getting in touch with our elements', or so he says. I don't think the others have started their tasks yet."

"Oh." Lloyd wasn't entirely sure what else to say. "But… your element is earth, right? Shouldn't you be, like, making statues out of rocks or something?"

"Sensei says plants are a part of earth, too," Cole said with a shrug. "So here I am, tending to a bunch of silly flowers while the others train. Even normal training would be cooler than this."

Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. He wanted to make fun of Cole, but he'd already done that— and now that he _had,_ he felt kind of bad about it. What was it Uncle had always said? Put yourself in the other ninja's boots? What would it feel like if Lloyd's elemental chore ended up being something silly, like sewing?

"Well… flowers aren't _that_ bad," Lloyd mumbled nervously. He crouched down to see the makeshift garden closer, but he couldn't find something to compliment. "Um… so… what do you like about them?"

"Well… mostly I just like that I'm good at growing them," Cole admitted. "Normally most of these species wouldn't be anywhere near full-grown yet, but they've all bloomed already. It's kind of a cool perk of my elemental power, although it's useless in battle, I guess."

That got Lloyd's attention. "Really? I mean, no— that's not useless, that's really cool! You could, like, shoot a tree up under an enemy's feet and launch 'em into the air!" He made a hand motion showing an enemy getting thrown into the sky.

"Heh. That _would_ be cool, but my powers aren't that developed yet. I can't do anything with trees or bigger plants yet." Cole frowned.

"Well, you have to start somewhere," Lloyd said encouragingly. "Someday your powers will come in handy!"

Cole looked slightly hopeful. "You think so?"

Lloyd beamed back. "Yeah! You're the strongest out of all of us, and this will make you even stronger!"

The black ninja smiled at his younger brother. "Thanks, kid— Lloyd."

The blond sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know. I'm still getting used to it, too."

"Yeah… but hey, at least _you're_ getting stronger, too." It was Cole's turn to offer an encouraging smile. Lloyd thought he smiled the most out of the ninja, although the others said he was the most stoic. Maybe he just smiled more around Lloyd. Or didn't smile as much in big groups.

"Thanks," the green ninja said, looking at the garden. "I should probably go tell the others I'm awake."

"You mean sneak back into the Bounty and steal something from your secret candy stash Sensei Wu doesn't know you still have," Cole clarified, grinning.

"Wha—?!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, kid. The cake toppings I bought kept disappearing; you didn't really think I wouldn't notice, did you?"

"Maybe…" A mischievous glint of red appeared in the iris of the young boy's otherwise green eyes.

"Well, just as long as you leave my stuff alone from now on, I _didn't_ notice," Cole said, smiling and pretending to zip his lips.

"And I didn't notice this," Lloyd said, gesturing to the garden. "Until you're ready to tell the others, anyway."

As the blond walked back into the Destiny's Bounty, he felt a little bit better about his age. After all, the flowers Cole planted had bloomed prematurely, but they all looked pretty good to Lloyd. Good by someone else's standards, of course, not his own. He didn't care about flowers.

* * *

(A/N: I know I know they still think their powers come from their weapons at this point in time but that never made sense to me anyway so just shhhh XD) (Also remember to leave comments/requests/suggestions in the reviews!)


	2. Pine (Lloyd & Zane)

(A/N: whOAAAAA, you guys are AMAZING! I didn't expect to get this much feedback! Thank you all so much for your overwhelming support on this project!)

* * *

Platonic Pairing: Pine (Zane/Lloyd)

Name Suggested By: Wyrenfire

Set: S1-S2ish

* * *

"Are you quite certain you're up for this?" Zane gave a concerned look towards the youngest member of the team.

"I'll be fine," Lloyd huffed, trying his best not to let his fatigue show as he trekked through the snow behind the nindroid. He may have gotten used to his older body, but he'd never tried to work it out as extensively as he had in the course of the past week.

"Okay," Zane said after a pause. "The lake is but a few paces ahead."

Per Wu's suggestion (read: instruction), Lloyd's "elemental chore" was to visit the places that his brothers had trained prior to coming to the monastery. None of the ninja really understood why— some mumbo-jumbo about all their elements being linked to the green ninja's energy— but they obeyed anyways. Lloyd had already gone mountain-climbing with Cole and tried his hand at forging Kai's blacksmith's shop (neither of which had gone exceedingly well), and was now headed towards the lake near Zane's village where he apparently learned to hold his breath underwater.

"Ooh." The young boy winced as he came into sight of the lake, which was iced around the edges like the start of a delicately frosted cake. It looked a lot colder than he'd expected.

"What is the matter?" Zane asked, turning around. Lloyd hesitated.

"It's nothing. Just looks kinda cold," he commented. Zane shrugged and started walking into the lake.

"Wha—?!" Lloyd exclaimed. "You're not going to take off your gi?"

"Why would I do that?" Zane asked curiously, cocking his head. The water, which was already up to his shins, didn't seem to bother him in the slightest. Whether it was because he was a nindroid or the master of ice, Lloyd couldn't be sure.

"I mean… I… never mind," Lloyd sighed, starting to remove some of his outermost garments. He'd learned from the other ninja not to try to explain things to Zane unless it was absolutely necessary, because it generally took a lot of time. "Let's just get this over with."

 _Maybe the water's not as cold as it looks,_ he thought hopefully as stuck one bare foot in. He immediately yelped and pulled it back. _Ok, ditch that thought._

"Zane… this lake is _literally_ freezing," he pointed out, waving his foot in the air to shake off the water droplets.

"Is that a problem?" Zane asked innocently, now fully submerged in the middle of the lake save for his head. He ducked under and rose up again, and Lloyd noted that his hairstyle really didn't change much under the weight of the water.

"I guess not, if Uncle came up with this idea…" Lloyd sighed, and took several paces backward, ensuring that his outermost garments were all a good distance away from any splashing range so he could use them as towels when he got out. _A running jump will be over faster than going in bit by bit._

"Here I go," Lloyd stated in somewhat of a sarcastic manner, and launched himself into the middle of the freezing-cold water, plunging down several feet and immediately re-surfacing with a loud screech.

"Are you all right?!" Zane asked with concern, paddling over to the boy.

"Th-this is f-f-freezing!" he exclaimed, regretting his decision to jump. "H-how long am I sup-p-posed to be in here, ag-gain?"

"I am not sure," Zane replied with a frown. "I am supposed to teach you how to hold your breath underwater to the best of my ability."

"O-okay, then l-let's get it over with," Lloyd muttered, noting that his teeth were already chattering. His lungs had felt about ready to burst on the long hike to the lake, but now they felt like they'd been shrunk and frozen beyond any hope of repair.

"First, I should see what you are currently capable of. Duck underwater and hold your breath for as long as you can without damaging yourself," Zane instructed. That last bit unnerved Lloyd a little, but he did as he was told.

Icy cold water pierced through his skin like icicle shards. The layers of Lloyd's blond hair in particular seemed to be sliced apart as he succumbed to the fact that he had to stay under. He wondered briefly if any fish lived in the lake, then quickly discarded the thought as an impossibility. It was too cold for any living being, surely. Human or not, Zane's choosing _this_ place to train was inhuman.

After what felt like an eternity, Lloyd's head popped out of the water, gasping for air. "How'd I do?"

"Twenty seconds," Zane remarked in an even tone of voice.

"What?!" Lloyd exclaimed. "I can usually go longer than _that,_ I'm sure… maybe the cold water's affecting me."

"Scientifically speaking, that would be logical," Zane confirmed with a nod. "Sudden exposure to cold temperatures raises one's heart rate in an attempt to pump blood through their body and warm them up."

"W-well then why are w-we t-training here?!"

The nindroid cocked his head. "Because Sensei instructed me to train you in staying underwater."

Lloyd sighed. "No, I don't mean..." Then, thinking better of it, he dropped the subject, having learned from the other ninja that explaining things to Zane sometimes took a long time. "Look, I don't wanna c-catch pneumonia, c-can you at least get a t-towel or something for when I g-get out?"

Zane paused, then nodded. "I will go to the village and secure some measures to warm you up once you are sufficiently able to hold your breath underwater. Stay here and continue to train."

"Ok, but how'm I supposed to do that?" Lloyd called as the taller boy swam easily to the edge of the lake, not even bothering to wring out his clothes once he got out.

"Do not think so much about where you are," Zane replied after a pause. "Focusing on the problem only makes it worse."

"That doesn't sound helpful," Lloyd muttered, but took another deep breath and forced himself to plunge below.

The physical pain was _really_ hard to ignore. The green ninja thought his body would have adjusted to the water after a few minutes, but it hadn't (although admittedly, he hadn't been there long). He tried to train his mind on something else. Unfortunately, the first thing that came to mind was the inevitable final battle between him and his father, which he did _not_ want to think about. Then when he tried training his mind away from _that,_ he started drifting into memories of Darkley's Boarding School and of the Serpentine.

 _Why do I automatically revert to bad thoughts?_ Lloyd wondered in annoyance as his heart started to pound against his chest. The cold was too much to bear; he paddled upwards and broke the surface of the water, once again gasping for air. It hit him that since Zane wasn't back yet, he couldn't know for certain whether he'd done better or worse this time around. Frustrated, he let himself float for a few minutes, catching his breath, and then dove back under. At least the water seemed maybe slightly less terrible now that the initial shock was over… _slightly._

 _Uncle would say think good thoughts. Think about the others._ Although it would sound sappy if he admitted it out loud, the other ninja were the best part of Lloyd's life by a long shot. They seemed to be warming up to him as a team, and he couldn't be more grateful for that. He loved being included in their intense video game competitions, and their conversations about girls (although he didn't understand the fuss, it was funny to see Kai trying to act smooth), and even their sessions of making fun of each other. Maybe even _training_ sessions weren't so bad, if they provided an opportunity for him to hang out with any of his brothers one-on-one. (Brothers— he didn't know why, but he loved it when Sensei Wu called them that.)

Lloyd abruptly realized that he hadn't ever really talked with Zane one-on-one before. Even under the lake, he was just waiting for him to come back with a towel. He wondered worriedly if that upset Zane. The white ninja never _seemed_ upset, but then, it was hard to tell when he was feeling any sort of emotion. His face was always sort of distant and cold.

Cold, like the water. Realizing he was almost out of breath, he started pushing back up towards the surface for the third time. This time, however, he was not alone as he emerged from the lake. Zane was sitting patiently on a large rock by the side, still dripping wet from earlier. Apparently, he'd sprinted to the town and back, and apparently, it hadn't occurred to him to grab a towel for _himself_ while he was there.

"I sense that you performed better this time," Zane noted cooly as Lloyd paddled over to him. He shook his head. "Do not get out yet. I wish to see your abilities for yourself."

Lloyd sighed, but did as he was told, a _bit_ more cheerfully this time since Zane had said he'd done better, and Zane was rarely ever wrong. Maybe he was learning faster than he thought and soon he'd be able to stay underwater for a really long time, and then he could get out of the freezing water and warm up. These thoughts mostly occupied him while he plunged under once again. (Lloyd noticed that training was often repetitive.)

After another session of holding his breath as long as he could, Lloyd pushed himself up and breathed in the (also rather cold) air.

"So?" he asked somewhat eagerly. "How'd I do?"

A faint trace of a smile showed on Zane's face. "Better."

"Yes! By how much?" Lloyd couldn't help it— he liked being told when he did good.

"How do you mean?" Zane asked. Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"I mean how much longer did I stay under, duh."

"You were still only under for twenty seconds."

Lloyd blinked. "What? But that's not—"

"However," Zane continued, "your breathing was not as noticeably desperate when you emerged, and you seemed less bothered by the prospect of going under."

The blond floating in the lake looked down in disappointment. "But if I couldn't hold my breath any longer, what good does that do?"

Zane motioned for Lloyd to swim over to him, which he did gladly. "The more noticeable abilities will come in time," he said, "but progress is necessary before that happens."

"Ugh. You sound like Uncle Wu," Lloyd said, flopping his arms down on Zane's rock and resting. Beside him, he noticed a steaming cup of… something, on top of a fluffy white towel. "What's that?"

"This is pine-needle tea," Zane said, lifting the cup carefully and giving it to Lloyd after he climbed the rock. As the smaller boy took a drink, he explained, "It is an antioxidant, among other things. It will make your training slightly more difficult."

The green ninja almost did a spit-take with the hot liquid. " _More_ difficult? Why would you give me something to make me do _worse?"_

"You will not do worse," Zane said evenly. "You will do the same as you did before, under more difficult conditions. Besides, I thought you would like something hot."

"Well… yea, it is hot…" Lloyd admitted, looking down into the cup. He remembered now why he didn't talk with Zane much— he didn't always make sense. "But I still don't see how this helps me."

Zane thought for a moment, furrowing his brow the tiniest bit. "Do you know how a pine tree seed works?" he finally asked, looking at the tea.

Lloyd nodded, shivering a little. The air was warmer than the water, but being wet made every chill seem more prominent. "They pop open under extreme heat, right? We used to set 'em on fire at Darkley's for fun. When we could find them, anyway."

"Precisely. Without a forest fire or other similar catastrophe, they cannot even begin to grow."

Lloyd hesitated and bit his lip. "So… you're saying that making training harder is helping me grow, right?"

"Something like that."

The two sat silently on the rock for a few moments. Then Zane said quietly, "You should probably go back in. Staying out of the water too long will make it colder when you re-submerge yourself."

Lloyd sighed, knowing he was right, and took another long drink of hot tea before slipping back into the icy water. The heat that the drink created inside him was almost immediately extinguished by the cold on his skin.

He trained for well over half an hour, until Zane finally let him come out and dry off. At the end of training, Lloyd still couldn't hold his breath for longer than twenty seconds at a time. But Zane occasionally pointed out other barely noticeable improvements, which made Lloyd feel a little better.

Zane was weird. And used a lot of metaphors. But he was nice, and Lloyd knew he only ever did things to help his brothers. Lloyd also noted that he seemed ever-so-slightly happier when he was talking about things he understood, like the medicinal properties of tea or how holding your breath under ice-cold water was like a seed being exposed to heat.

As he toweled himself off, he decided to ask Zane more about pine trees on the way home. Maybe he could warm the cold expression on his face, just a little.

* * *

(A/N: First of all, no, not every chapter will focus on this 'elemental chores' thing, and second of all, please don't expect them to all have some kind of meaningful metaphor tie-in at the end X'D Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one, it felt kind of awkward to me but I gotta go out of my comfort zone to grow right? *weak laughter*) (Also, I have quite a long list of requests now but feel free to add onto it and/or suggest names for platonic pairings that still don't have one! Right now I'm specifically looking for a name for platonic Bruise [Jay/Cole], so if you have a suggestion leave it down below!)


	3. Monochrome (Zane & Cole)

(A/N: This is by far the shortest oneshot I've written so far, but when I started this compilation I intended for them ALL to be this short, so y'all aren't allowed to complain X'D)

* * *

Platonic Pairing: Monochrome (Zane/Cole)

Requested By + Name Suggested By: Order of the Aether

Set: Between S7-S8

* * *

"Cole, please refrain from licking the spoon."

A muscular boy with dark, messy hair, tied up in a bun to keep it out of the flour, looked up guiltily from behind a large glass bowl.

"Aww, but the best part of cake is eating the batter!" he insisted, hesitantly staring at the wooden spoon he held. "And it's _my_ birthday tomorrow."

"Yes, and it would not do for you to wake up ill on such a momentous occasion," Zane replied, plucking the spoon out of Cole's hand and mixing the batter in the bowl. "I have compromised with your unwise decision to make two cakes for the team to share, but I will not stand by and watch you ingest uncooked eggs and flour."

Cole muttered something under his breath, but didn't try taking the bowl back. Instead, he stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, deep in thought.

"Do you think Wu remembers it's my birthday?" he suddenly asked, trying to keep his voice light. But his furrowed brows (which he'd allowed to grow out with his hair) and creased frown gave away his worried state of mind. Zane sighed and looked up from the frosting he was mixing.

"I'm sure he does," he replied in a gentle manner. "Wherever Sensei is right now, he would not forget about us."

"But… it's been two months," Cole sighed, averting his gaze. "I mean, we've been searching and searching and we still haven't found him… what if something's happened to him? What if he had his memory wiped, or if he's being mind-controlled or something? What if—"

"Sensei would tell you to stop worrying about 'what if's and think about the 'what is,'" Zane reprimanded calmly. Cole sighed, shaking his head.

"I know, I know… I just… I can't help worrying."

"We are all concerned," Zane admitted, setting his frosting spatula down and pouring the bowl of batter into a tray already lined with cake crumbs. "But worrying does no good to any of us. It is better for us to conserve our strength so that whenever we do find our teacher, we will be able to rescue him from whatever situation he may be in."

"Yeah… you're right," Cole said, in a slightly more positive tone. "We're gonna be in top shape to kick some serious Sensei-stealing butt!"

"As long as we are not over-stuffed from chocolate cake," Zane teased, motioning to the already-cooling cake and moving the circular tray for the start of the second into the oven. He didn't bother wearing oven mitts, as his metal hands were unaffected by the heat.

"Har-har," Cole said, rolling his eyes. "A few extra calories won't kill us. As I stated before, we have a bigger team now, and all of us are working out harder than we ever have. Don't tell Lloyd, but I think even _he_ might finally be starting his growth spurts. He's been eating a ton lately."

Zane smirked slightly, choosing not to reply to that statement. "All right," he said, returning to his frosting bowl, "the first cake should be cool enough to frost now. What color would you like added to the frosting? We have red, blue, yellow, and green, but I can combine them to make any color combination you—"

"I'm fine," Cole said, cutting his friend off with a shrug. "Just leave it white."

Zane raised an eyebrow and cocked his head slightly. "Are you certain? I have red and yellow; I can make orange." He knew that despite Cole's almost entirely-black wardrobe, his favorite color was actually orange.

"Nope. White is good," Cole replied, wiping his hands off on a towel and fixing his bun. He looked wistfully at the now-empty batter bowl, but didn't say anything more.

After a moment's hesitation, Zane asked, "Does… that have anything to do with me?"

Cole spun around and grinned. "You wish. Actually—" His grin faltered slightly.

"What is it?" the nindroid asked.

"It's nothing, it's— it's kind of a stupid reason," Cole said, shifting his feet.

Zane paused, then pressed a button through his gi, turning on a hologram that instantly made him appear human, even fixing the metallic echo in his voice. "You know I will not think it stupid. What is it?" he tried again.

"That only works on Kai," Cole said nonchalantly, picking up the batter spoon and twirling it around. "Although I don't know why— anyway, it's just a dumb thing from when I was a kid."

"Which was?" Zane asked. The black ninja scoffed, slightly in annoyance and slightly in pride, knowing that ever since PIXAL had re-opened communication with the ninja, she'd been rubbing off on Zane.

"All right, just stop pestering me. When I was little—" he hesitated, and his voice slowed. "And… my mom was alive…"

Zane's face grew more serious, understanding now why Cole had wished to avoid the subject.

"…we didn't have a lot of money. Dad… he was always singing, and he was really good, but… he hadn't gotten into any big venues yet. So I didn't get a lot of presents on my birthday. But what I _did_ get was a hand-baked cake from Mom, which I got to help her frost. We made everything from scratch, so since Dad said it was frivolous to buy food coloring, every year I had a brown chocolate cake with plain white frosting." He looked down at the floor with a sad smile. "This cake's more black than brown, 'cuz it's richer, but I guess a part of me just wants to hold onto the tradition."

Zane nodded and gave his brother a hesitant smile. "I understand completely," he said, "and I am sorry if I brought back bad memories. It was not my intention to upset you."

"No, it's fine," Cole said, shaking his head. "It's... it's good to think about her sometimes." Then, looking at the bowl of frosting with a grin, he added, "Hey, can I lick _that_ when we're done?"

Zane laughed and smiled, his hologram creating a small crease as he did so. "All right, fine. When we're done."

* * *

(A/N: Yay for pre-S8, pre-"my-body-is-a-temple" Cole! XD Honestly, I think this is my favorite oneshot of the three in this compilation so far, but what do you think? I'd love to hear your feedback! Also, I have quite the list of requests to get to but feel free to add onto it if you wish ^_^)


	4. Fulgurite (Jay & Cole)

(A/N: Ohhh boy... This was NOT supposed to be this long. Consider this me making up for not having written a platonic Jay and Cole fic yet X"D AKA, my take on how one of my favorite brotps met in the first place. ;D) (Also, it's in first person because I wanted it to be. ;P)

* * *

Platonic Pairing: Fulgurite (Cole/Jay)

Requested By: MasterOfCupcakes

Name Suggested By: Wyrenfire

Set: Pre-S1

* * *

I woke up to the ringing of metal on metal and the shouting of an old man. Groaning, I rolled over in bed and pulled a pillow over my eyes.

"Wake up, sleepyheads! Evil doesn't rest and neither should you!"

Sleepy _heads_? Plural?

Oh, right.

With some dazed confusion from still being-half asleep, I sat up and yawned, glancing around the room. As expected, Sensei Wu was standing in front of me with his too-familiar metal spoon and pan held up expectantly, waiting for me to get up. But where was the other kid?

"Five more minutes," a voice above me called, almost making me jump and hit my head. I blinked, then took in the fact that the bed above me was no longer empty.

"He's bunking _above_ me?" I blurted out. "There are _three_ guest beds in here! If he wanted a top bunk, couldn't you have put him on the empty one?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the voice called, sounding awakened by my complaining. Wu smiled as a pair of feet suddenly dropped into my peripheral vision, dangling above me. "Wu, I thought you said this guy was _friendly!"_

"He is," my master said, still smiling. "And you will address me as Sensei. Now Cole, perhaps you should come out and greet your new roommate."

Sighing, I brushed the pale pair of bare feet aside and stepped out of bed, stretching and hearing several _cracks_ as I did so. I'd known for months that I'd eventually be training with someone else, but that didn't make the blow any less harsh when he'd told me the night before that by the time I woke up in the morning, I wouldn't be alone. I wasn't really fond of people in general, and I _especially_ wasn't fond of the idea to share a room— and apparently a bed— with someone else.

Still, I had been rather curious about what kind of person Sensei would end up choosing. So at least those nagging thoughts were laid to rest when I first saw my new roommate climb down the ladder and turn to face me. (I swear I heard him squeak upon seeing me, which was admittedly somewhat gratifying.)

I sized the kid up and down. He was short, way shorter than me, and so scrawny he might've been underweight. He had reddish-brown hair like metal that had rusted, and huge bright blue eyes that contributed to his little-kid demeanor. His pale skin was covered with freckles from head to toe, and he looked like he'd never worked out in his life.

 _Seriously? THIS is who Sensei thinks is gonna be the next ninja?_

Well, whatever. I'd surely master spinjitzu way before he would; at least I didn't have to worry about the new kid outshining me. As long as he left me alone, I could deal with this.

The new kid hesitated, then tried to cover up his terrified expression with a feeble smile.

"H-hi!" he exclaimed. "I'm Jay. Jay Walker." He held out his hand nervously. Nodding my head slightly, I shook it, maybe a little too hard on accident.

"I'm Cole."

For some reason, the boy looked like he expected me to say more, but I shrugged him off as I turned to Sensei.

"Sensei, why did you wake me— _us_ up so early?" He never did that unless he had a special training prepared.

"I am sending you two off on a quest," he said in a king-of-the-ancients type of voice. "And it may take all day, so hurry up and get yourselves dressed!"

Stretching off the last bits of sleep, I walked over to the chest of clothes, which was tidy for once because Sensei had a thing about "good first impressions," and pulled out my black training uniform. The new kid's eyes darted back and forth.

"U-uh, Wu? I mean, Sensei?" he asked in a squeaky voice. FSM, his voice was high. I hoped it was only because of nerves, because otherwise it was going to annoy me to no end.

"Yes?" Sensei asked, twirling around gracefully from the exit of the room.

"Um," Jay squeaked. "I, uh, don't have a uniform? Or, uh, any other clothes besides these ones. Because you told me to leave them behind. Even though my flying suit would've probably made a great training outfit." He motioned down to his blue t-shirt and jeans, which had to have been extremely uncomfortable to sleep in.

"Your new uniform is in that chest, next to Cole's," Sensei instructed. "Now, meet me in the kitchen once you two are washed up." And with a twirl of the pan in his hand, he left the room. So much for the whole 'making sure we got to know each other' thing he promised me.

With the nervousness of a pirate at a dentist, Jay found the small bundle of black clothing that was bundled next to mine and pulled it out.

"I-I'll go change in the bathroom," he said quickly, and sped out of the room. About three seconds later, he poked his head back in and added, "Uh, where's the bathroom?"

I sighed and motioned with my hand.

"Th-thanks!" And he was off again.

Jay was like that _all morning._ By the time we reached our destination (a huge expanse of red mountains called the Vast-Pegs Rocks), I was sure I was going to have a nervous breakdown just by being in close proximity to this kid. And he seemed to never run out of energy: he practically bounced along me and Sensei as we trekked down to the lower areas of the mountain range.

"Can you tell us what our mission is now?!" he asked Sensei for the hundredth time. Thankfully, this time he actually got an answer.

"Yes, now that we've arrived. Your training for the day is to find and collect several samples of fulgurite. I have to take a trip to the village to check in on something, so I'll be back in the evening to pick you up." He shrugged nonchalantly and started heading in a different direction across the mountain, where the path to the village was.

"W-wait," Jay said, his voice switching back from excitement to panic, "How much do we need? Is this really gonna take all day? And, uh, what's fulgurite?"

I was actually glad he asked that last question, because I was wondering the same thing myself. However, when I saw the expression on Sensei Wu's face, a groan rose up in my chest: I knew we weren't going to get an answer.

"I will pick you up in the evening," he repeated. "You shall know what fulgurite is when you find it." Then he walked swiftly until he disappeared into the horizon, not letting any of Jay's pleas or questions perturb him.

"Well," I said to cut off the scrawny boy's anxious ramblings, "we're going to be stuck here a while. We may as well start searching."

He took a deep breath. "Y-yea, you're right. But how are we supposed to find something when we don't even know what it looks like?"

"'Fulgurite' sounds like a type of stone," I said, shrugging. "And Sensei said we'll know it when we see it, so I'm guessing it's a gem. So let's look around for those."

Jay looked a little more at ease after my suggestion. "Right. Gems. Got it."

"Maybe we should split up to cover more ground. Then we'll have more fulgurite to show Sensei," I pointed out, partially because it was true and partially because I needed some quiet for once.

"U-um, b-but I don't know my way around here!" he stammered. "I mean, not that I think I'll get lost, but, what if, you know, something attacks me?"

I scoffed. "Kid, listen. I don't know what sort of nonsense Sensei had to tell you to get you to agree to train with him, but being a ninja isn't like the cartoons you watch on TV. There's nothing hunting you."

I couldn't tell if Jay was relieved or disappointed by this statement, but either way it got him to shut up for a few minutes. He followed me as I started scaling the rocks, looking for any signs of gemstones, but I decided to allow it as long as he kept his trap shut. He probably _would_ get lost if we split up, and I had a feeling Sensei wouldn't like that.

Unfortunately, the blessed silence only lasted about ten minutes before Jay's curiosity took over again and his endless stream of thoughts started coming out his mouth.

"So, why d'you think Sensei Wu was being all cryptic back there? I mean, there's gotta be a reason why he wouldn't tell us what fulgurite is, right?"

When I didn't answer (Sensei never told us things, that was just the way he was), he kept going.

"I'll bet there's a reason. Maybe fulgurite is dangerous. Should we be prepared for something dangerous? What if this is some kind of test? It doesn't really seem like the type of training you need to wear a uniform for. It's more of a fighting uniform. Oh no, what if this means the fulgurite is going to be protected by a giant monster? It could be anything and we wouldn't be prepared because Sensei didn't tell us! I hope it's not a snake monster, I hate snakes…"

 _Does this kid think he's going to die if he stops talking?_

"Jay," I said, interrupting his musings. He stopped and looked at me, turning his head slightly.

"Yea?"

 _Crud._ I was going to tell him to shut up, but he stared at me with eyes that were innocently huge and curious, and he seemed genuinely interested in whatever it was I was going to say. I hesitated, then quickly changed my tactic.

"Uh… don't you worry about an enemy hearing us?"

He paused, considering that. Then, in a (slightly) lowered voice, he said, "Yea… but you said there was nothing to worry about, right? I mean, unless you think there really are snake monsters around here—"

"I just want to be safe," I said quickly.

"Oh, that makes sense," he said, nodding his head vigorously. "Ma always told me it's better to be safe than sorry."

 _Ma? Who says that anymore?_

"Jay, where are you from?" I asked. He must've caught onto my train of thought, because he blushed slightly.

"Oh, ah, not too far from here. My parents both have a bit of an accent, though, so it rubs off." He paused, then suddenly asked, "Do you think we'll get hot in these suits? I mean, it's early morning now and I'm plenty warm, but later on this black fabric seems like it might get _too_ warm…"

This boy did not understand the meaning of silence. Feeling like I was reaching the end of my long and patient rope, I sighed and turned around.

"You know you don't _have_ to talk while you look for the gemstones, right?" My voice came out harsher than intended.

Jay winced, and a flicker of the fear he'd exhibited when he first saw me crossed his face.

"S-sorry," he said, his face starting to turn red. "I know I talk a lot; my parents say I'm a motormouth. See, I was kinda homeschooled, and I never had any siblings, so I talked to myself a lot to entertain myself because was really really quiet where I lived and…" His voice faltered. "I'm going on again, aren't I?"

I felt a twang of sympathy in my chest. The kid wasn't _trying_ to be annoying.

"It's okay," I said, my tone softening a little. "Hey, I don't have any siblings, either, but it was _never_ quiet at my house. My dad was always practicing."

Still slightly uneasy, Jay asked, "Practicing what? Working out?"

I barked with laughter, startling him. "No, definitely not. Him working out— hah! I'd like to see that." I coughed. "Anyway, no. He's nothing like me, if that's what you were wondering. He's a huge music nerd, and he was always practicing barbershop quartet with his friends."

"Oh!" Jay said. "That sounds fun."

I shook my head. "Not really. He completely absorbed himself in it after… after a certain point. He never had time for me." Then, realizing what I'd just said, I shifted uncomfortably.

 _Just go ahead and share your life story with the first person you meet, why don't you?_

But Jay didn't seem phased. He looked sad. "Oh… I'm sorry. That must've been awful. My parents annoy me sometimes, and I probably annoy _them_ sometimes, but I can't imagine never talking to them…"

"Well, you're not going to see them for a while," I pointed out, although afterwards I wondered if I shouldn't have. "But you'll get used to it," I amended quickly.

Jay paused as if he hadn't considered that. Finally, he looked up and said, "True… but at least I can still annoy you and Sensei, right?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I guess so. But careful with me when I'm in a bad temper." I flexed, which visibly startled Jay.

"I'll try to be," he laughed nervously. "You're, uh…" He cleared his throat. "You're really strong, aren't you?"

"Hmm, I don't know," I said in a joking voice. "Let's find out!"

The boy yelped as I swiftly stopped walking and scooped him up, hoisting him above my head.

"Huh, you're really light," I noted as I lifted him up and down. "Even more than I thought you'd be."

"P-p-put me down!" he exclaimed, his cheeks starting to burn. I laughed and set him down gently.

"You gotta put on some weight, kid," I mentioned as he brushed himself off. "Don't worry; after some proper spinjitzu training you'll be eating like a bear."

"Let's just look for those gemstone thingies," he muttered, still blushing. He was quiet for the next ten minutes, despite me occasionally trying to provoke him with notes about how Sensei was gonna train us.

 _Wait. Now I'M the one trying to get HIM to talk?_ Jeez, this kid was something else. That thought stuck with me for the rest of the day, which was spent unsuccessfully searching for fulgurite. Jay almost had a panic attack when he realized we wouldn't have anything to give Sensei when he arrived, until I calmed him down by telling him that Sensei had a habit of giving out impossible tasks just to see how his students would react. As long as we proved that we tried, I said, he wouldn't get mad at us. (I hoped I was right.)

When he finally did pick us up, however, he seemed far less interested in the fulgurite than in our day.

"Did you two have a nice time?" he asked, leading us into the kitchen where he'd prepared dinner. I'd cooked for him once and I often offered to cook more, but he always denied me for some reason.

"Yeah," I said sarcastically, "we had a great time stranded out in the middle of a bunch of rocks with absolutely nothing to do for _hours_ on end."

"Hey, it wasn't that bad!" Jay exclaimed, obviously just trying to suck up to Sensei. "I mean, the food we packed was really good. Although it was, ah, maybe a _tiny_ bit boring at times… but we talked a lot!" His eyes were lit up like a sphere I had when I was a little kid; you'd put your hands on it and static electricity would generate out to them from the center.

"I'm glad to hear that," Wu said in an even tone of voice as we sat at the table. I couldn't read the smile on his face.

"So, uh, Sensei," I finally said, wondering if he was testing our truthfulness or something, "We never did end up finding any fulgurite. I was wondering if you could tell us what that was?"

"Ah, that's a shame," he said, although his voice wasn't disappointed. "Fulgurite is the substance created when earth and lightening connect."

"Wait, you mean like how glass is created when lightening strikes sand?" Jay exclaimed, clearly excited to be on a subject he knew about.

"Precisely," Wu said, nodding.

"But, wait!" Jay cried. "There hasn't been any rain, let alone any thunderstorms, in at least _months_ in this part of Ninjago! How could we have found something created by lightening and earth connecting if there wasn't any lightening to begin with?!" He seemed thoroughly frustrated by the old master's antics, but I'd expected as much.

"To be honest," I said with a sigh, "I had half a mind that fulgurite didn't even exist. I thought you just dropped us off in the middle of nowhere looking for an imaginary object so that we would…" Suddenly, my voice dropped and my eyes narrowed. "…bond …or something…"

Sensei stood up without a word. "I just realized I have forgotten to blow out the candles I was using to meditate before I picked you boys up. I'll be right back; go ahead and start dinner without me. Don't want to burn the whole building down now, do we?" He chuckled to himself as he left the room. Jay and I stared at each other awkwardly across the table.

Well, one thing for certain: life in the Monastery was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

* * *

(A/N: As I said before, NOT EVERY ONESHOT WILL BE THIS LONG OR EVEN CLOSE TO THIS LONG, I'M SO SORRY X'D I hope you enjoyed it, though! As always, reviews feed my muse~)

(EDIT: Special thanks to razena for pointing out what is possibly the dumbest mistake I've ever made in my writing career. It's fixed now. X"D)


End file.
